A sub-contractor for Woodward Construction of Hartselle works on a sewer main extension from Upper River Road to the new Priceville High School construction site on North Bethel Road. The 13-foot cut necessitates the use of a trench box for the safety of workers. | Clif Knight

Both site preparation and design phases of the new Priceville High School are on schedule Morgan County School Board members learned during a project update at a regular board meeting July 11.

Volkert senior construction manager Kevin Gunnison reported that Woodward Construction of Hartselle has removed and stored one foot of top coil from the building site, staked corners for the building pad, undercut the north entrance and is proceeding with drainage work.

”All of this has been done in spite of a rainy Fourth of July week,” Gunnison pointed out. “However, we are hoping for more favorable weather as we move forward.”

“On the design side,” he added, “the architect has met with Lee Willis and put technology requirements on paper and prepared preliminary designs for the kitchen and safe room. In addition, two of three preliminary floor plans have been submitted for state approval.”

“We’re on schedule to compete site work in September and put the construction phase of the project out for bids in November,” Gunnison stated. “We plan to have progress reports with color images for you to see monthly, beginning in August.”

“Everything looks good,” said John Godwin of GBW Architects. “We’re within range on the square footage and everybody is covered.

Superintendent Bill Hopkins added, “The Priceville staff has looked it over and is satisfied. We feel good about it and we’re progressing at a rapid pace.”

Board member Paul Holmes changed the course of the discussion when he asked the architect if it would be possible for the board to see two or three other roof designs before the plan is finalized.

“It can be done,” said Volkert Vice President of marketing Phillip Russell, “but if you do, it’s going to affect other systems. With this design you can put mechanical equipment on the roof. We’ve done a million square feet of this type of roof. It’s considered the Cadillac of commercial roofing.”

“We’ve never seen a choice of roof designs or a different architectural style for the building” said board member Carolyn Wallace. “Some people have told me they don’t want the school to look like a commercial building.”

It’s your building and we want you be happy with it,” said Barkan. “It you’re not pleased with the design, we’ll go back to the drawing board.”

“There’s a difference between the esthetics and the performance of a product,” Godwin pointed out. “If your concern is about a low sloped roof, that’d be different. If you have a concern, let us know and we can address it.”

“The school is being designed by the people who’re going to use it,” Hopkins pointed out. They have looked at other schools as a part of the planning process. Priceville is going to have a school that everyone will be proud of.”